


Primum Tactum

by zqbini



Series: Senses [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:14:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28391493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zqbini/pseuds/zqbini
Summary: Whenever your soulmate touches you, it leaves behind a permanent mark until the first act of love.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: Senses [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079333
Comments: 9
Kudos: 116





	1. Weasley is our King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for choosing to read this fic! This is my first time writing on AO3 and I'm really excited. I hope you all enjoy!!

"I'm going to rip his disgusting scarface off," Pansy Parkinson grumbled as she walked hurriedly down the corridors with Draco at her side.

"No, you're not," Blaise Zabini huffed on the other side of Draco, "because i'm going to do it."

"Oh, both of you shut up, you're not making this headache feel any better," Draco groaned as he leaned up against Blaise to prevent from falling down.

"Sorry," Blaise and Pansy mumbled together.

The group of three finally reached the hospital wing and walked up to Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh my goodness, get him on a bed, now! What happened?" She rushed while leaving the other children she was attending to.

"It was potter and those weasel twins, they attacked him after quidditch," Pansy huffed as she watched Draco get onto the bed. 

"You look like you just got smacked by the Whomping Willow!" Madam Pomfrey said as she grabbed a paste to put over a bruise on Draco's cheek.

"I feel like I did, too," Draco grumbled. He winced when the cool paste touched the skin on his face and it started to tingle a bit.

Madam Pomfrey frowned, "I need to go get something stronger for your arm. I'll be right back."

Draco stared at her confused but she began to walk away, "my arm..?"

Draco looked down to see his arm had a big gash across his forearm, along with a few other cuts and bruises.

His eyes widened, "how did i get that?"

"One of the Weasley's must have scraped their broom on you," Blaise rolled his eyes.

Pansy smiled, "oh, yeah! that was a genius idea, your song!"

Draco grinned slightly, "it was totally worth it. The look on Weasel's face when he heard us all singing—I'll never get over that!"

A few moments later, Madam Pomfrey returned with a bandage and some liquid.

She began to tend to Draco's wounds when Pansy asked, "when can he leave?"

Madam Pomfrey thought to herself, "after breakfast tomorrow he should be almost completely healed."

Draco sighed and winced slightly as his arm stung by whatever Madam Pomfrey was putting on his arm. All this for a stupid song? The Gryffindorks are a bunch of sore losers.

"All done," Madam Pomfrey said as she bandaged up Draco's arm. "Drink this now, it'll help with the pain. Drink this when you wake up tomorrow," she placed two vials full of liquids onto the table next to Draco's bed.

Draco took one of the vials off of the bedside table and downed it in one go. He grimaced at the taste and set the empty flask down. "Bleh."

"What did you expect it to taste like, pumpkin pasties?" Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes as she took the empty flask from Draco's hands.

"Now, you two run along so Draco can get some rest," Madam Pomfrey started to shoo them.

Pansy frowned, "we'll be back in the morning, Draco."

Blaise gave Draco a comforting nod and with that, the two friends walked out of the hospital wing and toward their common room.

Draco sighed when the door shut and looked around the infirmary. He was the only one spending the night, besides a girl who looked younger than him, maybe a second or third year, who was already asleep.

The hospital wing became very dark and eerie, the only source of light coming from the moon seeping through the windows. 

And when the only sound Draco could hear was his own breathing, he decided to just get some sleep and hope he'll be good as new by the morning.

***

A couple of hours later, Draco's eyes popped open. He had dreamt of Potter _again_.

It wasn't unusual that he'd dream of Potter, but usually, those dreams consisted of them fighting or arguing. This one had been different. He and Potter actually were friends, all because he decided to actually accept Draco's friendship in their first year.

'Why in the world would I ever want to be Potter's friend? I know I was delusional when I was younger, but I'm right in the head now. At least I think so,' Draco thought to himself.

Draco sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes to shake away the tiredness.

He looked around the infirmary, only to find it was still dark outside and it was still eerily quiet.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, Draco got up from his bed and started walking to the bathroom.

He reached the hospital wing's bathroom and shut the door, not caring how loud he had been seeing as he was the only person around.

Draco walked up to the sink and mirror. He cupped some cool water into his hands and splashed it onto his face. He steadied himself by placing his hands on the sides of the sink. He took long, low, deep breaths as he tried to slow his heart rate.

He made eye contact with himself in the mirror in front of him and ran a hand through his messy disheveled hair.

His eyes spotted the bandage around his arm and he touched the bandage self consciously. The last time he had been injured was his third year when he was assaulted by Hagrid's hippogriff. Draco rolled his eyes and scoffed at the memory.

His eyes began to trail to his neck when he noticed a brownish-red spot on his collar bone. Draco's eyebrows furrowed and began to undo the buttons on his shirt to get a better look.

Draco's eyes widened at the sight before him.

There were bruises all over his torso.

He glazed his hand over one of the smaller bruises, only to not feel any pain.

"What the..." Draco mumbled to himself.

He then pressed down on the bruise. Nothing. No pain at all.

"Last I checked, bruises are supposed to feel at least a little sore," Draco huffed.

He pressed down gently at his biggest bruise, the one that was running across his chest and to the top of his rib cage.

Still nothing.

"Why do I have all these bruises over me but I can't fucking feel them? Merlin, I'm dying! This must be my last heap of energy before i'm off," Draco groaned and started to do the buttons on his shirt.

'Maybe this way, I'll never have to look at Potter's stupid scarface again,' Draco thought to himself as he walked back to the infirmary.

He slipped into his bed and fell back into a fitful sleep.


	2. The Soul Mark

"Morning, Draco!" Pansy greeted Draco from beside him as he opened his eyes. He then noticed Blaise standing at the end of his bed. 

‘Great, so I’m not dead,’ Draco silently groaned.

“How are you feeling?” Blaise asked, showing sympathy.

“I’ve been better, yeah.” Draco's mind wandered to last night when he stared at himself in the mirror. “What time is it?” 

“A quarter past seven, we know you like to wake up early and we wanted to be here when you woke up,” the black-haired girl gave him a smile with comforting eyes.

“Oh, thanks. I cannot wait to get out of here. This place is just full of sadness,” Draco sneered.

Draco fought against telling his best friends about the dark patches across his torso. He knew they would insist on staying with Madam Pomfrey longer and Draco could only take so much of that place.

“Well, we’ll leave you to get dressed. Don’t forget to drink that potion,” Blaise pointed to the flask on the night table beside Draco's bed. Draco nodded and watched his friends walk out of the infirmary.

He grabbed the bottle that contained a healing potion and swished it down. Draco winced at the foul taste and started coughing slightly. “Why must all healing potions taste terrible? Surely healers can make something at least a little more manageable,” Draco said aloud to himself.

He stepped down from his bed and grabbed his clothes for the day that were placed on the chair in front of his bed. He then hastily walked to the hospital wing’s bathroom.

Draco felt a sense of deja vu when he opened the door and found his reflection staring back at him. Shutting the door slowly, he set his clothes down on the sink. He took a moment to retain himself while he watched himself in the mirror.

He slowly started to undo the buttons on his shirt, not daring to look at his torso. He kept his eyes locked on the eyes of his reflection, only to see the dark orange spots in his peripheral vision. After unbuttoning the first three buttons he stopped abruptly and clamped his eyes shut. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, trying to calm his nerves before fully unbuttoning the rest of his shirt.

This time he kept his eyes glued to the floor. What Draco didn’t understand was how something could look so vile and not be cured by magic? 

The only explanation would be that he was hit with something made from magic.

But the fight from the day prior – that was purely physical. No one had hit him with a curse or a hex. 

Draco shrugged the rest of his shirt off after unbuttoning the last of it. He looked up and it was hard for him to look anywhere else other than the upper half of his body. The bruises of last night had been blue and purple but these – they were a deep and dark orange.

A sickly feeling rose in Draco's stomach as his slim fingers slid across his torso.

He pressed down lightly on the biggest discoloration that looked like a gash. There was no pain whatsoever. It wasn’t even numb.

He felt completely normal. 

“What the fuck?” Draco softly whispered. 

It was like he had been colored by a child with a crayon. Or as if he had gotten a bad tan that was slowly fading away. His unusually pale skin now was no longer pale. He felt like he was burning up. He wasn’t sure if participating in school today was the best idea. He contemplated on telling his friends, or even Madam Pomfrey, of his bruises but ultimately decided against it.

This was all Potter’s fault. Weasley had been hitting his face while Potter beat up his torso. He must have put something on his hands to cause these magic-induced marks.

But wouldn’t that mean Potter’s hands would have the marks too? Draco didn’t remember Potter’s hands being blue or purple or orange.

After hearing his stomach growl from lack of food, he changed into his school clothes and left the bathroom to go find his friends.

He opened the door to the infirmary and saw Pansy and Blaise standing against the wall a few feet away. Pansy was the first to see him, “ready, Draco?” Draco just simply nodded and gave his friends a quick smile while pointing his nose up. 

They walked in silence toward the great hall – which was fine with Draco since he wasn’t in much of a talking mood.

There weren’t many people in the halls or corridors at this time of the morning which was why Draco loved to wake so early. They passed a few people chatting quietly or walking silently on their way to the great hall for breakfast.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long! My mum has told me so many stories of when she got hers,” Draco overheard Katie Bell’s conversation with her friend. His pace slowed.

“Who gave it to you? My, your wrist is turning burnt orange!” Katie's friend gasped. Draco stopped.

Draco turned his head to see Katie's wrist was the same color as the spots on his torso.

“The only person that touched me yesterday was Terry Boot. Terry was the one to give me my soul mark,” Katie gushed.

‘Soul mark?’ Draco thought to himself. 

“Draco? are you all right?” Pansy asked after she and Blaise noticed Draco wasn’t walking with them anymore. 

Draco removed his gaze from Katie and her friend to give his attention to Pansy. He nodded, “yeah, let’s go.”

The trio walked side by side into the Great Hall and headed towards the Slytherin table. They were the only Slytherins awake at that hour besides from Tracey Davis. 

“Good morning, Tracey,” Blaise greeted her as he sat down next to her. Draco took a seat across from her and Pansy sat next to hm.

“Morning, Blaise. Draco, how are you feeling? You were in the hospital wing all night,” Tracey asked. Draco sighed, “I’m doing better. No thanks to potter and the weasels.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, the song was brilliant,” Tracey picked at her food.

Draco poured himself a cup of tea, “I know. They just don’t have any sense of humor.”

The Slytherins grew silent as they began to eat their breakfast.

“What’s a soul mark?” Draco asked no one in particular.

Blaise hummed while swallowing a bite of his food, “it’s a mark you get whenever your soulmate touches you. It really sucks if you get in public because there’s a slim chance you’ll see them again.”

“How do you get rid of it?” Draco asked.

The dark-skinned boy snickered, “you don’t just  _ get rid of it, _ it’s pretty permanent.”

“Permanent?” Draco shrieked.

“Yes, that is, until the first act of love. Then that’s when they are erased,” Blaise explained.

“What do you mean, the first act of love?” Draco began to feel his hands sweat.

“I don’t know, something like a hug or a kiss, or giving a gift. Even terms of endearment, they’re all acts of love.”

“Does the other person get the marks too?”

“Well, i would expect yes, seeing that they also touched them too. Why are you asking questions about this anyways?” Blaise questioned.

“Oh, he probably got a soul mark!” Pansy clapped excitedly.

“By who, Madam Pomfrey?” Tracey laughed. 

Draco rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea, “I was just curious.”


	3. The Drunk Professors

After what seemed to be a very long and intense day, Draco was finally walking to the great hall for dinner. 

Throughout the day, he couldn't get Blaise's words out of his head. He did indeed have a soul mark, there was no denying it. Draco actually had quite a few soul marks running up and down his torso, but they all happened at the same time so Draco considered them as just one.

Draco thought about writing to his mother about his soul mark but decided against it. Narcissa Malfoy had divorced Lucius Malfoy during Draco's second year after he had been sent to Azkaban for attempted murder with a dark object. After the divorce, Narcissa decided to change back to her maiden name, Black. Draco thought about changing names with her but thought it would just complicate things. Plus, Draco thought he sounded better as a Malfoy than a Black. 

Draco remembered how lonely the manor had felt during breaks and summers. He couldn’t imagine how it felt for his mother while he was away at Hogwarts. He didn’t want to send her a letter talking about his soulmate when she was no longer married to hers. As insensitive as Draco could be, he felt like that was a little bit much.

Draco’s last class of the day had been exceptionally hard for him. Potions was usually one of his favorite classes, but his mind was preoccupied. It was one of the few classes he had with potter, but potions was a double-period.

Snape had been breathing down Draco's neck all class period, especially whenever Draco found himself glaring at Potter. It was unbearably difficult to focus.

Draco was just glad his day was over. He walked through the great hall and towards the Slytherin table where his friends were already sat.

“Draco, finally! What took you so long? I thought you were walking with us from potions?” Pansy asked as Draco took his spot next to her.

Draco shrugged, “just wanted some time to think.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re here now. Theo and Blaise are being complete imbeciles!” Tracey shoved a bite of food into her mouth.

Draco snickered as he hungrily took his first bite, “what did they do this time?”

“We’re simply just debating on which professor could get the drunkest. The only reasonable answer is Dumbledore,” Blaise playfully shoved Theodore Nott’s shoulder.

“No, it’s definitely Flitwick!” Theodore laughed.

“That’s not all you were discussing!” Pansy said as the group erupted into laughter.

“They’re planning on slipping some firewhisky into their goblets tomorrow night!” Daphne Greengrass laughed with the others.

“There are so many ways this could go wrong. Don’t you guys remember snape has been getting onto us about detentions?” Draco asked.

“We just won’t get caught,” Blaise flashed a smile. 

Draco rolled his eyes and continued to eat his food, “your life, not mine.”

The Slytherins continued to eat their dinner, joking about professors and complaining about homework – their usual dinner conversations. Although, Draco's thoughts and actions were anything but usual. He was keeping to himself instead of leading the conversation and seemed to be very lost in his thoughts.

After keeping his eyes glued to his dinner, Draco decided to tear his gaze to the Gryffindor table. Potter had just arrived at dinner after being in the library for half the time. He sat down across from Hermione Granger with a book tucked under his right arm. Granger grabbed onto Potter’s right wrist and glazed her hand over his knuckles – which had turned into dark orange bruises that seemed to look a lot like the bruises Draco had all over his torso.

Draco started to choke on his food.

“Draco! oh dear, slow down!” Pansy started hitting Draco's back to stop him from coughing. 

After collecting himself for a few moments, Draco stopped choking and only coughed slightly.

“You alright, mate?” Blaise asked. 

Draco nodded, but he was far from just  _ alright. _ There was a very good possibility that Potter was Draco's soulmate.

***

The night was finally coming to an end, and Draco was dreading it.

For the past couple of nights, Draco had been dreaming of Potter. Whether they were friends, fighting, or he was just simply there, he dreamt of him.

Draco knew for sure that after the day he just endured he was surely going to dream of Potter again.

The Slytherin boys all said goodbye to the girls as they headed up to the dorms for the night. Draco stayed at the back of the group and drug his feet up the stairs, trying to be as slow as possible. 

Once Draco reached his bed, he threw himself onto it and layed face down. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were the first two to leave the room and head to the bathroom. Soon after, Theodore followed.

“Alright, what's got your panties in a wad?” Blaise asked and sat down on his bed next to Draco's.

Draco stood up from his bed and grabbed his nightclothes out of his dresser. “It’s nothing,” he mumbled.

Blaise scoffed, “it’s obviously not  _ nothing _ , you’ve been acting distant all day. Especially in the last couple of hours.”

Draco took off his school robes and his grey vest. “Really, it’s nothing important.” He started undoing his tie.

“Draco, come on! I’m your best mate, you can tell me anything. I’m a good listener,” Blaise tried.

“Yes, of course you are, Blaise.” Draco started undoing the buttons on his shirt.

“Draco, come on! Is it about the firewhiskey? If it’s really that big of a deal we won’t do it,” Blaise attempted to get some insight.

“I don’t care about the firewhisky,” Draco huffed as he pulled his arms out of his shirt sleeves.

“What the fuck, Draco?” Blaise yelled.

Draco’s eyes snapped up to Blaise's, “what?”

“Nothing important my arse! What is that all over your chest?” Blaise asked.

Draco looked down to see his bruised torso exposed. He crossed his arms over his body self consciously. 

“Nothing, Blaise!” Draco argued.

“Is this why you were asking questions about soul marks at breakfast?” Blaise asked more in a whisper.

Draco sighed, feeling defeated, “yeah.”

Blaise studied him for a moment, “my, Draco! I’ve seen soul marks before but I’ve never seen anything like this! What did she do to you?”

Draco quickly shot him a glare, “not a she.”

“What do you mean it’s not a she?” Blaise laughed.

Draco rolled his eyes, “it’s a he.”

“Oh, so you know who it is, then? Well, go on! Tell me!” Blaise poked.

“I’m not telling you anything because you have such a blabbermouth and will go on yapping it to the first person you see!” Draco yelled.

“That’s not true, I’d only tell Pansy! Or, maybe Theo too,” Blaise argued.

Draco groaned, “yes, and Pansy is literally the biggest gossip at Hogwarts, are you daft?”

“Oh,” Blaise fell silent.

“Yeah,  _ oh _ ,” Draco mocked.

Blaise suddenly became very interested in the patterns on the rug. Then, he suddenly gasped, “those weren’t there before quidditch yesterday.”

Draco sighed, “no, they weren’t.”

“And no one’s touched you since then,” Blaise pointed a finger at Draco.

“No, Blaise.”

“So...one of the Weasleys is your soulmate!” Blaise gasped.

Draco’s eyes instantly shot up, “if my soulmate was a Weasel I would actually jump off the astronomy tower.”

Blaise laughed, “oh god, same.”

The room became silent.

“Wait, so, that means…” Blaise trailed off.

“You mustn’t tell anyone, Blaise. Not Theo, not Pansy. No one,” Draco ordered.

“Okay, fine! My lips are sealed!” Blaise shot his hands up in surrender.

Suddenly the doorknob turned and Crabbe, Goyle, and Theodore walked into the dorm.

Blaise made piercing eye contact with Draco and Draco began to glare at him.

“Not a word,” Draco muttered. Blaise subtly nodded.


	4. Stolen Hearts

“Morning, Draco!” A couple of third years greeted the blond as he walked through the Slytherin common room. Draco grunted as a response and continued on his path without even turning an eye.

After a long and restless night, Draco had once again dreamed about Potter. It was a quidditch match, Slytherin versus Gryffindor, and Slytherin was up by twenty. Draco was about to catch the snitch, just when Potter came up from behind him and snatched it. 

_ “Ha, stole the snitch just like I stole your heart!”  _ H e remembered Potter smiling at him before flying off to do his victory lap.

Draco woke up startled after that, terrified by his subconscious. He looked over at his bedside table to see it was only five in the morning. He couldn’t go back to sleep after that, knowing there’s a very good chance he’ll see an unwanted face again.

Draco lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts kept running in circles, but he focused on the silence that filled the room.

Once his clock reached seven, Draco sprung out of his bed and started walking. He didn’t know where he was going, but he just needed to get out of the dungeons.

He couldn’t get Potter’s stupid smile out of his mind. Draco has only ever seen him genuinely smile from afar, but it felt so real. 

“Stealing my heart? That’ll be the last thing he ever does,” Draco muttered to himself.

Reaching the stairs, he started on his journey up. He remembered something his mother had said when he was a child, “clear skies lead to clear minds.”

After walking for some time, he reached the astronomy tower. 

Draco slowly walked to the edge, gripping his hands onto the railing. He inhaled the crisp autumn air and closed his eyes to stop his head from pulsing. 

Why was he having these dreams, anyway? Wasn’t it bad enough that Potter was likely Draco's soulmate? 

“Oh, I didn’t know you’d be here,” a feminine voice said. 

Draco turned around abruptly to find Tracey Davis staring at him with concerned eyes. Draco sighed, “just needed to think.”

Tracey hummed and took a seat on the floor next to a pillar. 

“Why are you here?” Draco asked with a short tone.

Tracey, unphased, replied, “needed to finish the astronomy homework.”

“In the daytime?”

"The sun hasn’t even risen yet, plus I forgot to last night,” Tracey explained.

Draco turned back to see the early morning horizon. The sun was barely visible, but the background looked to be splattered with deep blues and purples. 

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it was beautiful.

“I like your shoes, by the way,” Tracey commented. Draco looked down to see that he was wearing black ankle socks – with no shoes. 

He looked to the rest of his outfit to see he was still wearing his nightshirt and checkered dark green and black pants.

embarrassed from his appearance, Draco kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

“This never happened,” Draco said sharply before running off to the dungeons.

Much to his surprise, the corridors and halls had already filled up twice their normal size for that hour. Draco thought that hopefully keeping his head down would avoid people from seeing him. He purposely took the routes with less traffic, just to avoid further embarrassment. 

“Is that Malfoy?” Draco heard from in front of him, but he didn’t dare look up.

“I like the new hair, Malfoy. Really suits your personality,” a certain voice snickered as Draco walked past them.

Draco turned around to see none other than Harry Potter and his Weasley sidekick laughing to themselves down the hallway.

Draco’s face heated up in both fury and embarrassment, but he knew things would be worse for him if he said something to them.

Draco hastily reached the door to the Slytherin common room and said the password – but the stones wouldn’t budge.

“What..?” Draco said to himself. Then the realization hit him.

It was Wednesday, and every Wednesday the password is changed. Draco had been in such a hurry to leave earlier that morning that he didn’t even remember to check the board in the common room.

After a few moments of standing sheepishly outside the entrance to his common room, the stones started to move.

“There you are, Draco! why are you dressed like that?” Pansy asked as she and Blaise emerged from the stone wall.

“I’ve had a long morning,” Draco mumbled before brushing her shoulder and running into the Slytherin's bathroom.

The first thing he noticed was his hair – also the faint orange bruises painted on his collarbone – but mostly his hair.

He looked and felt like a complete idiot.

Draco turned the sink faucet on and put his hand under the water. Draco dampened his hair with his fingers while glaring at himself.

After his terrible, but much-needed, attempt to freshen up, Draco rushed to the dorms to change into his school clothes. He noticed Crabbe and Goyle were still asleep, and Theodore was nowhere to be found. Draco didn’t remember seeing him in the common room, so he thought he must have already gone to the great hall. Which he thought was weird, seeing as Theodore was the total opposite of a morning person, sometimes sleeping far later than Crabbe or Goyle.

Taking a quick look at the time before rushing out of the room, he noticed it was only seven-thirty.

‘Why is half the school awake so early?’ Draco wondered.

After making sure he looked presentable, Draco went to the board in the common room to find the new password before heading to the great hall for breakfast. 

“I can feel my excitement practically exploding out of me!” Draco heard Theodore say as he approached the table.

“Okay, is this some alternate reality or something? Because almost the whole school is awake and Theo is actually happy in the morning,” Draco took his usual seat next to Pansy.

“Did you forget, Draco? I thought that’s why you weren’t in the dorms this morning?” Theodore said as he took a bite out of his toast.

Draco’s eyebrows furrowed, “forget what?”

“I thought you of all people would have remembered,” Blaise snickered.

“What are you talking about? I’m missing something here.”

Pansy rolled her eyes, “yeah, yeah. Okay, Draco.”

“I truly don’t have any clue!” Draco argued.

“Morning everyone,” Tracey greeted as she hurriedly took a seat next to Blaise.

Draco groaned dramatically, “will someone please inform me on what I’m obviously being left out of?”

Pansy stared at him wide-eyed, “you seriously forgot?”

“Forgot what!?”

“It’s Kettleburn’s birthday!” Theodore excitedly said with a mouthful of rolls.

Draco stared at the group dumbfounded, “but that’s not for a few more weeks?”

“He’s traveling on his birthday so he can’t be here. We talked about this last night,” Pansy explained. 

Every year since Professor Kettleburn resigned, he’s visited Hogwarts for his birthday to revisit his old students. Not many people remember him or even care about him coming back, but most of the Slytherins miss him devastatingly after Hagrid took his place. Every year whenever Professor Kettleburn returns to Hogwarts, he brings his old students something from his travels through the year. Whether it’s a small figurine or just a photograph, he always brings them something they would appreciate.

Draco sighed, “I guess I do miss the old bat.”

Their breakfast chatter seemed to go by fairly quickly, but Draco didn’t bother to notice. Subsequently learning of his soul mark, Draco had been lost in his thoughts more and more. He began to realize his situation would only ever get worse and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Blaise, you know a good amount on soul marks, don’t you?” Draco interrupted the Slytherin's conversation.

Blaise cleared his throat slightly, “I mean, yeah, I guess. Why?” 

Draco shrugged, “just curious about something. Can soul marks ever be from a platonic soul mate? Or is it always a romantic soul mate?”

“Well, I don’t know. I’m fairly certain it’s always a romantic soul mate. Although, there’s always the option of them deciding on not being together. Honestly, Draco, I’m not quite sure why you’re asking this. You and your soulmate are anything but platonic,” Blaise rambled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Draco jabbed.

“There’s just to much angst between you and–” 

“Wait, Draco's found his soulmate?” Pansy gasped.

Draco’s eyes widened, “no, this is all hypothetical!”

Pansy gave Draco a comforting smile, “your forehead is creasing, you git.” Draco rolled his eyes at the fact Pansy could uncover his lies by a simple line on his head.

“Fuck you, Blaise,” Draco grumbled.

“You’re the one who brought it up, mate.”

Draco sighed and lowered his voice so only Pansy and Blaise could hear, “I’m not going to speak about who my soulmate may or may not be in the Great Hall.”

Pansy sighed, “that’s fair enough, I guess.”


	5. Kettleburn's Gift

“Well you’re awfully chipper today,” Silvanus Kettleburn chuckled.

Ever since he retired from his position as the Care for Magical Creatures professor, Silvanus Kettleburn has taken numerous holidays around the world. He comes back to the United Kingdom every year for his birthday, bringing his past students gifts and items that made him think of them.

Draco scowled at the old man in front of him, “I’m just peachy.”

Kettleburn frowned, “well, something is obviously troubling you. A penny for your thoughts?”

“What?”

A thick silence fell among the two.

Kettleburn had set up his area for the day right outside Hogwarts, just before the path to Hagrid’s hut. A small bag made from cloth was tucked beneath him, assuming that was what was holding the gifts, and Kettleburn sat on a ledge against a pillar.

“What’s on your mind, Mr. Malfoy?” Kettleburn tried to give Draco a comforting smile to set his mind at ease, but it only made Draco feel more awkward by just thinking about telling his problems to his very, _very_ , old professor. 

Draco shrugged, “lots of things have been on my mind lately.” It wasn’t completely a lie.

“Well, let me hear them. Just the first thing that comes to mind. I _am_ very old, therefore I am very wise and hold much experience.” Kettleburn combed his small beard with his fingers.

Well, it didn’t hurt to ask him.

“How much do you know about soul marks?” Draco sighed, feeling strained and tense from bringing up such an unprofessional topic.

Kettleburn chuckled, “Is that why you told your friends to leave us?” Draco’s ears burned up, “well that, Mr. Malfoy, I know a great deal about.”

“Is it possible that someone could...remove theirs? Or even change soulmates?” Draco asked quieter, making sure no one was around to hear them.

Kettleburn gasped, “I could never think of a more foolish proposition! Why on earth would someone want to change their soulmate? They are called soul mates for a reason.”

That same tense silence filled the air once more.

“Mr. Malfoy, are you saying... _you_ have found your soulmate?” Kettleburn asked. Draco’s eyes widened only slightly and he hung his head low.

Kettleburn covered his mouth with his hand, “why, you’re still so young! To have found your soulmate this early in life – knowing you now have years and years to spend with them...that sounds like a miracle to me.”

Draco remained silent.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you find out?” Kettleburn asked.

Draco sighed, “It was after the first quidditch match of the season, a couple of days ago. My... _soulmate_ ,” Draco practically threw up at the words, “they got mad and, well, we got into a rather physical fight.”

Kettleburn’s eyebrows furrowed, “I don’t see any soul marks on you, though.”

“They’re all right here,” Draco pulled the collar of his vest down to reveal the top half of his chest, “they run up and down my whole torso.”

“Merlin, I’ve never seen anything so...dear heavens!” Kettleburn exclaimed. He stared at the spot Draco had pulled his shirt down with wide eyes.

Kettleburn thought to himself for a moment, “you do know there’s a way you can get rid of them, right?”

Draco scoffed, “I am _not_ doing anything with them. I refuse to do anything with them relating to...love.”

“So, you know who it is, then? I don’t understand why you would want to change soulmates though…” 

“Yes, obviously. I remember them practically beating the shit out of me,” Draco rolled his eyes.

“Well, go on then, who is it?”

“Harry Potter,” Draco mumbled so quietly, not even a butterfly could hear. 

“I’m sorry, can you say that a little louder? I’m afraid my hearing is beginning to go bad,” Kettleburn grinned.

“Harry Potter,” Draco said firmly.

Ketlleburn gasped, “blimey, Mr. Malfoy, I hope you are not pulling my leg!”

Draco scoffed, “why would I pull your leg, you don’t even have a real one, they’re both wooden!”

“It’s another muggle expression. Anyways, Harry Potter? The boy who lived? I still don’t understand how one could be upset about their soulmate being Harry Potter, of all wizards!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Draco huffed, “He’s a bloke, for starters. We’ve hated each other for the past five years! Not to mention we’re on two different sides of the war.”

Kettleburn smiled, “Mr. Malfoy, you _do_ know that my soulmate is a male, right?”

Draco’s eyes widened, “what?”

He chuckled, “the whole reason I resigned was not because of protecting the last limbs I had left, but because I had finally found my soulmate. We got married that summer, and he and I now travel the world together.”

“But...but isn’t that like, wrong?” Draco stammered. 

Kettleburn sighed, “you children only listen to what comes out of your parent's mouths.”

Draco stared at the old man in bewilderment.

Kettleburn continued, “it’s only _wrong_ if you’re the one who thinks it. Maybe you should try to listen to your own thoughts and not just what your father says.”

“I’m the Malfoy heir, I can’t just not continue the family name,” Draco argued.

“You don’t need to focus that far ahead in the future right now. It’s okay if you have doubts, too. But I mean, I’ve been with my husband for three years and it’s been the absolute best part of my life. Don’t focus so much on what others will think and what they will say. All that matters is what you think about yourself,” Kettleburn counseled and gave the blond boy a small grin.

Draco became very fascinated with the grass in front of him, “but he can’t be my soulmate. We hate each other.”

“Do you? Do you really? Or do you just say that because it will make things easier?”

Draco didn’t know how to respond to that.

Kettleburn sighed, “my gift to you, Mr. Malfoy, is this piece of advice; do not be afraid of the future. The future is very terrifying and life will throw anything your way. You just have to know that there are always better days ahead and everything will work out.”

***

The air filling the room had a certain chill to it that comforted Draco in a way nothing else could. The cold and damp walls surrounding his dorm were all Draco could focus his attention on as he sat at his wooden desk with a blank piece of parchment in front of him.

Writing letters were never this hard for Draco, it was like a sixth sense for him. He was an effortless communicator and his penmanship made him seem all the more elegant.

Something about writing to Narcissa Malfoy – especially about soulmates – made Draco feel uncomfortable. It made it ten times more difficult to put the words onto paper.

> _Mother,_
> 
> _I hope you are doing well._
> 
> _I need some help. I’ve come to the realization of who my soulmate is and I don’t know what to do._
> 
> _Harry Potter, can you believe it?_

Draco stopped writing.

Putting his quill down gently, he rubbed his face with his hands.

“This is going to sound so insensitive,” Draco grumbled to himself. He sighed and stared at the page before pressing the quill down again.

> _Of all the people in the world, my soulmate is Harry Potter._
> 
> _I know you’re not with father anymore and I apologize for bringing up this subject, but I don’t know what else to do._
> 
> _Is it even allowed? I mean, I didn’t choose my soulmate. I would have chosen someone like Greengrass or someone in a younger year. Never someone with the same gender as me._
> 
> _My soul marks...mother I need to get rid of them as soon as possible. It’s not something I can hide very well and I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to conceal them._
> 
> _I wish I could show you how severe they are but alas, I cannot._
> 
> _A few days ago, I got into a physical fight with him after our first quidditch match of the season. I thought they were just regular bruises, but I’ve realized that not only are they not bruises, but they are a hundred times worse._
> 
> _They run up and down my torso and some are even reaching as high as my collarbone. They’re deep orange and some even have sort of a rusty look._
> 
> _A Gryffindor girl got hers yesterday, I saw it. It wasn’t as nearly as bad as mine. The only other person who has seen them is Blaise (which was a complete accident, I would rather no one know about it) and he said he’s never seen anyone get them as bad as I do._
> 
> _I am feeling very hopeless, mother. I wish I was with you. Hopefully, winter break will be sooner rather than later._
> 
> _I miss you._
> 
> _I hope you are not too lonely in the Manor by yourself._
> 
> _Yours,_
> 
> _D Malfoy_

Exhaling a tight breath, Draco folded the parchment making sure not to rough it too much. After addressing it, he began his walk to the Owlery in hopes that his mother will bring him a solution to his complication.


End file.
